general problems of the 2007 Mazda CX-7 - part 1

On the 4th of July my family and I were driving to westchester from manhattan. We had a full tank of gas, recent oil change and new car battery. The car is always maintained and it has never given us any trouble. During our drive we noticed something was wrong. The the car started to feel hot, but we weren't too sure if it's just hot out or if there was something wrong, because the ac was on. We pulled over and turned the car off. We checked the coolant and saw that we had oil. We opened the trunk, felt around to see if it was hot and to see if we smell anything. It seemed fine. As soon as we drove off, not 2 minutes in, when driver said the gas petal felt weird, it dropped from 50 to 30 to 20mph and we heard a light drilling noise. As soon as we stepped out of the car, it was in flames. Our family could have died. . Read more...

At hwy speed, in motion, on state hwy, engine light came on, heard a pop and then vehicle died.

Shortly after purchasing vehicle replaced timing, turbo, exaust, ball joints, tie rod ends & much more. Timing was first, then driving and turbo went out. 2 days ago car sitting in driveway, not running, started smoking from under hood, butst into flames and burnt up. Mazda said no recalls, clearly not true according to website. Almost burnt my house also as it was sitting in driveway and couldnt be moved. If we would have been inside the car, I doubt we would of had time to get pulled over & out as thats how quick it burnt!.

Takata recall. The contact owns a 2007 Mazda Cx-7. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 17v429000 (air bags). The parts to do the repair were unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The vehicle was taken to eagle auto mall (1320 old country rd, riverhead, NY 11901 (631) 727-0700), but the dealer refused to repair the recall and stated that the contact would need to take the vehicle to the dealer from where the vehicle was purchased. The contact took the vehicle to Mazda 112 (2112 NY-112, medford, NY 11763 (631) 654-2746), but the dealer also refused to repair the vehicle. The manufacturer was notified of the issue and advised the contact to take the vehicle to a Mazda dealer. The contact had not experienced an air bag failure. Also, while driving, the contact smelled a burning odor throughout the vehicle and noticed smoke coming from the hood. The exact location of the smoke could not be determined. The contact stated that he previously had to use a gallon of oil per week. The check engine warning indicator illuminated. The contact called major world at (866) 614-2884 (43-40 northern blvd, long island city, NY 11101) where the dealer stated that the engine was not covered under warranty. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 116,000. VIN tool confirms parts not available/parts distribution disconnect.

The contact owns a 2007 Mazda Cx-7. While the vehicle was parked, a hose failed and the check engine warning indicator illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified. The failure mileage was 145,000.

I purchased a 2007 Mazda Cx-7, 3 years ago. I have taken pristine care of my vehicle as I have always. I am a fan of Mazda and have owned others in my lifetime. However, I am extremely disappointed in Mazda Cx-7. I have always put premium gas in my vehicle, regular oil changes, and had my vehicle serviced at a Mazda dealership to make sure it was taken care of properly. Nonetheless, last week I had my car towed to the dealership. Why? because of the consistent problems I seem to find online. My turbo needs to be replaced among other things that coincide with this issue. I have done my research and see that Mazda only points fingers back to the consumer. But I am going to point my finger at the poor design. Must be why Mazda no longer make these vehicles. I believe this is Mazda¿s issue not mine. The car cannot be totaled out by my insurance company because it is ¿a mechanical breakdown¿. I still owe on the vehicle and the cost to repair is well over the blue book value of the car. There should be a recall on these vehicles. Mazda just keeps pointing the fingers back at us, even if the car was taken care of?!?! if this is a common issue for Mazda Cx-7 and Mazda cx 9 to have turbocharger and engine problems, I do not see why the repairs are put back on us.

Timing chain caused bent valves and head needed to be fixed. Stupid designed engine. Mazda won't recall hundreds of cars affected by this. Never buying a Mazda again.

December 2015 I had my car towed to a Mazda dealership (aaa service said to do so because of the noise and fear the vvt would break while in motion) to replace the vvt (timing chain) and valve cover gaskets - paying out of pocket. As of today, 2/12/16, the same noise, but louder, still occurs when I start the car and drive. The air bag light is on and was on when I took it in. No mention of was made. Also, when I received my receipt, they had the mileage wrong by 20,000 miles (potentially affecting carfax reports) , and indicated on the sheet that other areas such as lights were fine and they were not. They did mention that my turbo may need replacing soon (another consistent complaint). There was a class action suit filed in NJ regarding this and it was thrown out. Why isn't the government doing something about all of these similar complaints? where do I go since I just don't trust Mazda dealerships?.

I have a 2007 Mazda Cx-7, my vehicle has 71,000 miles I have noticed a riddling noise for the past few months. I visit three mechanics and all three mechanics are telling me it's the vvt timing chain. The cost the repair my vehicle is $3,000 to $4,000 dollars. I contact the Mazda dealer and because I have no warranty I have to pay out of pocket. So I begin to do my research online. I realized that there are hundreds of other Mazda Cx-7 owners that are having the same issues as I. What a coincidence Mazda has discontinued manufacturing the Mazda Cx-7. This is a manufacture issue and Mazda needs to own up for it. Hundreds of people are losing their vehicles due to this vvt timing chain issue and Mazda needs to make this a re-call. I know one thing I hope and pray nothing happens to me while driving my vehicle because I will not hesitate to file a lawsuit against the Mazda corp. I hope someone can help all of us who are current owners of Mazda Cx-7. I will continue to spread the word of this horrific issue with this vehicle model.

I have had to replacethe ac compressor pump this will be the third one. I cant afford $700. 00 dollars per pump and it onlu last for 8 months. I seen all the complaint people have with this same issue. When is Mazda going to step up and help us resolve this issue. I will never buy or recommend a Mazda to anyone. Between that and the turbo they are junk and not depedable at all.

I was on my way home from work when I notice that my Mazda started to slow down in speed, I turned off the a/c to see if I can hear any noise and all I heard was a low noise like a chain, I pulled over to the side of the road called my husband who's a mechanic and he said you are going to have to take it to the Mazda dealership its your timing chain. As I was doing some research I have noticed that there are many complaint out there for this same issue. I still have 3 years left on this car and its not fair that Mazda knows about this issue but refuses to do anything about it. Its a big safety issue if your car is shuting down in major areas that can cause accidents.

I bought this car in February 2013 and two times since then I have had to replace the timing chain, thankfully my husband and I bought the extended warranty, but I have a feeling that it will do it again before I even pay my car off. Just a month ago I had to take my car in because my engine light came on, so I checked my engine oil and there was none on the dip stick. Called the place I just came from getting my oil changed the week before and found out that the turbo charger was malfunctioning and sucking all the oil out of the oil pan. The dealership says that it common for that make and model. . . My warranty covered the work but barely. I now have 4,000 miles left on my warranty. . . . What else could go wrong! I will never buy another Mazda period!.

I have an on going issue with my car 2007 Mazda cx7 last year in October 2013, the turbo went out on the car and needed replacement $4000. 00). I had a tug of war with the dealership. They finally took responsibility and replaced the turbo. Today December 2014, I sit here in the same situation once again the turbo went out on my Mazda and needs repair. This is an issue with this car part and Mazda does not want to take responsibility for their malfunction part. Which is not fair to the guest that they have to come out of pocket to pay for a part (turbo) that Mazda does not want to take any fault for.

I purchased my car, a 2007 Mazda cx7 used with 34,000 miles on it approximately 4 years ago. I was driving approaching a stop sign and my car just stopped running. I was able to go around the corner and get the car off the road and out of traffic. I had the car towed to the garage near my work who usually maintains my car. They said that the repairs were going to cost $3742. 00. Two valves need ground and numerous other parts need to be replaced. After doing some research I find that Mazda has had this problem with many of the cx7 vehicles, but they are not covering the repairs. I take very good care of my car, have regular maintainence done, and do not put a lot of miles, or drive my car hard. There is no reason that this should have happen other than defective parts from Mazda!!!! they should make this right. These cars are expensive and the owner should not be experiencing such major repair costs with so few miles on the car.

While driving on colorado state highway 91 at approx 55 mph, the vehicle suddenly died. The engine ceased working, all systems ceased immediately. I was unable even to safely pull the car onto the shoulder, the loss of power was so complete and so sudden. The vehicle was 200 miles from my home, and 250 miles from the closest dealer at that point, so I had it towed to the closest garage that would look at it, about 60 miles away. That garage evaluated the car and stated that the timing chain had broken and a new engine would be required, at approximately $6,000 to $8,000. I phoned the closest Mazda dealer, in denver, and asked what they recommended. They also stated the engine would have to be replaced, at a cost of $8,000 to $9,000. I contacted the garage closest to my home and asked their advice. They stated they had experience replacing the timing chains and repairing engine damage in other vehicles and that they could diagnose whether that was an option. Their guess on cost was between $2,000 and $4,000 if the repair were possible and there was not too much damage to valves. Since the shop that is 25 miles from my home recommended repair at less than 1/2 the cost of the dealer 200 miles from my home, I elected to take it there. Upon research I found 1. The VIN # is one in a series with known timing chain failure, and that a heavier duty one had been issued to replace; 2. The dealer had replaced the vvt previously and should have replaced the timing chain at that time according to service bulletin 01-012/12, but did not replace the timing chain; 3. The failure happened 4 days after the expiration of the engine warranty and 7,000 miles over the 7yr/70,000 mi period; 4. Mazda would not honor the warranty since the repairs were done by an independent shop, not a dealer. Mazda knows that this VIN# is in a range of vehicles with this issue but will not fix.

Mazda Cx-7, 2007 - four days and 7,000 miles out of warranty. Driving on the highway, the engine suddenly quit suddenly and the car died. The VIN number on the car is in the range of numbers from 2007 that have reported the same and similar defects many times from other car owners. The vvt actuator failed and was replaced by dealer penkhus Mazda under warranty in 2009, but the chain was not replaced. Research into Mazda service bulletins sb-10044209-4285 and 01-012-12 indicate that the timing chain should have been replaced at the time since the VIN number indicates the vehicle was produced prior to a Mazda timing chain modification date of may 1, 2009 (VIN #'s below jm3er. . . 300119). My vehicle falls into this group. Mazda issued a warranty extension to 7 years, 70,000 miles for this faulty timing chain in January 2012 but is now refusing to honor any warranty on the premature failure of the timing chain. Vehicle was towed to nearest shop at the time, +/-50 mi. Shop said timing chain was broken and a new engine probably needed. Estimated cost $8,000. I phoned nearest dealers in denver and colorado springs to discuss with service departments. They advised if it was timing chain failure it could easily be a new engine at $8 - 10,000. My home is between 175 and 225 miles from the nearest dealer. I contacted my local shop who advised me to contact kracl automotive in glenwood springs. Kracl said they would definitely look at it, determine cause of failure and attempt to repair prior to recommending total engine replacement. I had the car towed another 100 miles to glenwood springs, 22 miles from my home, and the closest capable repair shop. Kracl advised me the timing chain had broken and two valves were damaged but not the cylinder head. Repair estimated at +/- $4,000. Repairs were completed with special order Mazda parts cost of $3,851. 21.

Just bought a used 2007 Mazda cx7 about 2 months ago and the car starting producing smoke out of the tailpipe. Took the car in as it is still under warranty, and the dealer claims that the turbo charger is going out in the car! I asked the dealer if this is covered under the warranty and their response was that it was not. That is absurd! I wish I would have read all of the complaints about this car with people having to go through the ordeal with crappy service from the dealer before buying it! this ought to be included in a recall considering the amount of times this has happened to buyers of the cx7. I feel terrible as this was purchased for my mom to drive who is on a fixed income and cannot afford to have major repairs done on a car that was purchased only 2 months ago! me, nor any of my immediate family members have ever owned a Mazda vehicle and best believe this will be the last time we do!.

My gas light was on. I was going to get gas. The car was driving fine then I felt a pull like a chug I did not want to run out of gas. I turned around to go home a few blocks away I would rather call the automobile club to bring gas to me than get stuck on empty. The car started pulling and chugging as I started to go up a hill. I pulled to the right side of the road rolled to a stop. Aaa towed me home. I had a master mechanic come out to look at it. He told me my engine was frozen rings were done and I needed a new car and it wasn't worth 5,000. 00 to fix. So now I have a beautiful car not worth anything. Oh yeah! I'm very upset!.

I was stopped at a traffic light with my 10 yr old in the car, and as soon as I pulled out form the traffic light we noticed smoke and people honking their car horns at us. I looked in the rear view mirror and there was a "puddle" of fire on the road that was not there when I pulled up to the stop light so I assume it leaked down from my engine. After noticing the fire I quickly pulled over (not even through the intersection yet) and instructed my son to get out of the car. I shut off the ignition of the vehicle, and exited as well to call 911. By the time the fire department arrived, the car was too far gone to be salvaged. The car was completely burned, all airbags discharged from the heat of the fire, and the front two wheels where damaged by heat and the front tires where melted.

Timing chain replacement resulted in a catastrophic failure of the high pressure fuel pump and its housing. Replacing the timing chain returned the engine to production line specs, that were too much for a worn fuel pump to handle. The increased pressure to the fuel pump shattered it into numerous pieces less than 100 miles after the timing chain was replaced. Said pieces became lodged inside the cam shaft and ended up bending all of the valves. The necessitated a complete valve job, removing and replacing the cylinder head, fuel pump, cam shaft and oil control calve. At worst, all timing chain replacements should require a fuel pump change in order to prevent the sequence of events that happened to my car and thousands of others.

Driving on the highway, turned on the a/c and a burning smell started emitting into the car. Open up the windows and the odor was coming from the engine. . Read more...

Timing chain replaced on 2007 Mazda cx7, July 2013. Vehicle over extended warranty issued by Mazda, repair was out of pocket, even though this is very common problem with this year Mazda. Now 5 months later, second timing chain has gone bad and Mazda is refusing to accept responsibility stating that the new timing chain failure was due to low oil in vehicle. I have service receipts to prove that all oil changes had been done, and that this was not the cause of the second timing chain failing, but more of continuance of faulty, defective Mazda parts. This is a huge problem with this company with an outstanding number of consumer complaints. They do not want to accept any responsibility for their own problem, instead putting it all back on the consumer. Please, get involved and put a stop to this before these defective parts cause someone to lose their life!!!!.

A/c compressor locked up.

As I was driving, the timing chain broke and imploded into the engine, damaging the engine which now needs replacement. This appears to be a common occurrence with this vehicle.

65mph car dropped out of 6th and powered down. Turbo killed the engine.

We purchased our vehicle new. The passenger side air bag lights up for no reason. It's intermediate. I have taken it into the dealership and they claim there is a known issue however not a recall therefore Mazda will not pay for the expense to repair/fix it. I have asked if the air bag will work if we are in an accident and they cannot say either way. Also our engine light is intermediate as well. I've taken it to repair shops who ran a free diagnostic test which states another known issue with Mazda with the fuel evaporation line. If Mazda is aware of these issues, why don't they repair them at no cost to the owner? does someone have to die first?.

While driving down road timing chain jumped causing severe internal engine damage . . . (bent all valves) approximately $8000. To repair!.

I was accelerating to merge into expressway traffic when I heard a loud whine/squeal from under the hood and the car lost a significant amount of power. The noise was so unexpected and unrecognizable that the shock I experienced when I heard it caused me to tense up and veer off to the right. Fortunately as I was on a ramp there were no vehicles to the right of me to hit. I was able to get up to highway speed by gradually accelerating on the shoulder before merging and then exited at the next exit. The vehicle is now at a Mazda dealership and I've been told it was a turbo charger failure. My research into this issue on this make, model and year, has proven that this is a known issue for Mazda and they have extended their standard warranty coverage to owners for additional months and/or miles. There has not been a recall however and I think that considering the number of these incidents that have occurred, one would be warranted.

We were driving home on christmas eve going about 65 mph when the cars engine just died. We lost all power to the car including the power steering. Thankfully we were on a straight stretch and due to time of night there were not many other cars on the road. We were able to coast to the side of the road safely. The car was towed to a dealership where it was discovered the timing chain broke and damaged the engine in the process. After researching this online I discovered hundreds if not thousands of complaints about a broken timing chain that required replacement of the engine. Some of these complaints were as early as 30,000 miles. There was even discussion about a recall on the timing chain from Mazda saying that it was defective but Mazda was not always honoring this recall. Obviously based on these complaints there is a problem with the timing chain in the 2007 Cx-7 that needs to be addressed. Mazda is not doing anything about it and trying to get out of the mess they created.

I wanted to report a safety issue with the 2007 Mazda Cx-7. There is a known problem with the ac compressor and instead of doing a recall on the product they extended the warranty to 5 years or 60,000 miles (instead of 32,000 miles). I bought my car right around the time they sent these letters out, so was unaware of what was going on. Recently I was driving the Mazda and I smelled smoke. I saw some smoke coming from under the hood, and when I pulled over and opened the hood the ac compressor was on fire. Had I not been pulling into work and on the highway I would?ve been in worse shape. It was scary considering it was next to the engine which has oil, fuel, etc. . . Going through it. There were no warning signs that there was a problem with the ac compressor until all of a sudden it caught on fire. I have made attempts to call Mazda and try to get some help on this issue, and they seem to not care at all. I wanted to report this in hopes some other owners of the vehicle could be aware and not expect any help from Mazda's end. It is a safety issue and it needs to be addressed/recalled.

Driving east across the bay bridge from sf, the engine made a wheezing noise. After a mile the power dropped, and the car would only travel at 30 mph. No engine light came on to warn of this, even during the event. At this point it was obvious that it needed repair attention, and we found a Mazda dealer/repair shop relatively close by to drive it to. Once they had a chance to diagnose the problem, they reported to us that engine 'sludge' was to blame. The timing chain had been rubbing, and the vvt actuator had been compromised. Turbo galleys were also plugged. In Jan. Of this year, Mazda posted an extended warranty for Cx-7's timing chain and vvt. However, the dealer informed us after checking with Mazda that we were not eligible for the warranty. Gaps in our history of repair was the given reason. After an appeal, the rep from Mazda said the highest authority had reviewed the claim and again declined to help. We have read numerous complaints from other Cx-7 owners with the same problem. Many of them have also been denied the use the warranty that Mazda has extended. This is a vast and scary problem with this vehicle.

The vehicle suddenly stopped running while traveling at 65 mph on interstate 95. The vehicle was safely moved to the side of the road where it was then towed to the dealer where it was purchased. The service representative indicated that the engine would have to be opened at a cost of $500 to determine the cause of the problem. They suspected that the timing chain had broken. After consulting with Mazda customer service, I was advised to have the vehicle towed to a Mazda dealer. The vehicle was towed to thompson Mazda in baltimore, maryland where it was confirmed that the timing chain had broken and that the engine would have to be replaced. Mazda had provide an extended warranty on the timing chain for 7 years or 70,000 miles. The warranty indicated that if there was a timing chain noise to bring into a Mazda dealer to have it serviced under the warranty. At no time was there a noise experienced from the engine. Mazda also indicated that the vehicle had to have service records to be covered. Since the vehicle was purchased used in April 2011 we only had our service records and the car fax service records. Mazda indicated that because there was a gap in the service records, between 31000 miles (the last record shown by car fax) and 54000 miles (when we had purchased the vehicle), they would not cover the cost of replacing the engine. It is my belief that Mazda knew there was a defect in the timing chain and had they been proactive in recalling the vehicle and replacing the timing chain the engine would not have had to be replaced at a more significant cost of $7,200.

My husband was driving the vehicle down a backroad highway going 60 when all of a sudden the car stopped. There was no notice, no noise nothing. The pos was towed to the local Mazda dealership. The looked at the vehicle and said "timing chain. . $3000". Ok, not what we expected but fine, fix it. 24 hours later, they called to advise that the engine is blown $7000. I contact the Mazda customer service ( aka people who are trained to tell you that you are sol) to see if there was any recall or any other things that may cover this. No, nothing but a extension was mailed Jan 2012 to advise that the timing chain was extended for repair. No notice was received and the address they had on file was correct. So here we sit with a worthless pos that nobody wants to take responsibility for. I would rather have it sit in the drive way and we share 1 vehicle than put 7000 into this car. I see that we are not the only people that have been taken advantage of by Mazda. Has anyone called recently into customer service to hear the list of recall notices? it take 8 mins for the automated system to list them all. This company needs to take responsibility for it's worthless machines! if a class action lawsuit ever comes out, I will join in a heartbeat. Can the NHTSA please look into this? I know that we are not the only people . . . No time in life should an engine need to be repaired with only 76k on it!!!.

Felt slight jolt, and immediately less power, then engine just stopped. My opinion is that the timing chain first "jumped" a tooth, then failed altogether. I was able to coast safely off to the shoulder, where I called for a tow. Car was flatbedded back to the dealer at my request, as they have done all work on the car since day 1. Dealer stated several days later that engine had no compression in two of the four cylinders, and a remanufactured engine would be required at a cost of $6400. 00. Later, having researched this, it is a common problem and seriously premature for this mileage and for a car driven moderately and on which all recommended maintenance has been performed (by this dealer). I stated Mazda should stand behind this and contribute all or part of the repair bill. Several days later, dealer states Mazda refused.

On 7/11/12 my wife was driving on the entrance ramp to the FL. Turnpike when her Mazda cx7, 07 engine turned off completely without warning. She was on a one lane road with a blind sided curve when this happened. A 18 wheeler truck was coming up behind her and almost rear ended her vehicle. Fortunately the driver of the truck was able to stop before hitting my wife car. After a investigation of the engine problem I found out that it was a bad timing chain that caused the vehicle to shut off the way it did. I called the Mazda manufacture and they told me that they were aware of the timing chain problem and thats why they sent out letters for an extended warranty on the timing chain problem. The also stated that the only way they would replace the part is if I could show records of every oil change that was done on the car from the time of purchase. Being that I purchased the vehicle used I am not able to show all the oil change records they request. The point is that the manufacture recognized that there is a problem with the timing chain. They should be doing a immediate recall on the car to fix the problem before somebody gets seriously injured or killed. . If you can I ask you to please help with this matter. .